Consumption of Ready-to-Eat Cereals in Relation to Health and Diet Indicators among School Adolescents in Crete, Greece

Abstract

Background/Aims: We aimed at examining the intake of ready-to-eat cereals (RTEC) among adolescents in Crete, Greece, and investigate relationships with health and diet indicators. Methods: A sample of 392 adolescents (183 boys, 209 girls) aged 15 ± 0.4 years, attending high schools of two major counties in Crete, was studied to determine consumption of RTEC using a frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements were performed and blood was drawn for analysis of serum lipoproteins and blood glucose (BG). The physical fitness was assessed with the 20-meter shuttle run test (SRT) and the amount of time watching television was estimated. Nutrient intakes were calculated through 24-hour dietary recalls. Results: 42% (n = 77) of boys and 43% (n = 90) of girls reported consumption of RTEC at least once per week. Approximately 40% of the male and 47% of the female consumers reported eating RTEC only at meals other than breakfast. RTEC consumption was inversely related to the obesity indices and BG levels, and positively related to the SRT (p < 0.05 in all analyses). RTEC consumers had significantly higher intakes of fibre, magnesium, calcium, iron, folate, and vitamins A, B₂ and B₆ (p < 0.05 in all analyses). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated favourable associations between RTEC intake and health and diet indicators in Greek adolescents, with potential implications for improved health status and chronic disease risk reduction.

The association between consumption of breakfast cereals and BMI in schoolchildren aged 12–17 years: The VYRONAS study

“…Another beneficial effect of RTEC consumption is that the majority of the adolescents consume them with milk (13,14,18) , which is in accordance with the results of the VYRONAS study where it was shown that milk and cereals were the main foods consumed at breakfast in both genders.…”

“…Furthermore, the findings of the present work are not in accordance with the results reported by van den Boom et al (18) , where 49?8 % of the studied population (aged 2 to 24 years) reported eating RTEC. Regarding the frequency of consumption of RTEC, in the VYRONAS study 18 % of the school adolescents ate RTEC at least once per week, which is not in accordance with the findings reported by Kafatos et al (13) where 43 % of adolescents ate RTEC at least once per week. Finally, we demonstrated that RTEC consumption decreased significantly as girls became older, which is in accordance with the findings of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (19) in girls.…”

“…Eating cereal, whether cooked or ready to eat for breakfast, is associated with a significantly lower BMI in adults, when compared with either skipping breakfast or consuming other types of breakfast (11) . Studies (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) have demonstrated the nutritional benefits of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (RTEC) in nutrient intakes in both children and adolescents. During the past few years, several investigators (11)(12)(13)17,(19)(20)(21)(22) have observed an inverse association between consumption of breakfast cereals and the rate of obesity in adults and adolescents.…”

Food consumption, physical activity and socio-economic status related to BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio in adolescents

“…Concerning ready-to-eat cereal intake, our results are in accordance with evidence suggesting that ready-to-eat cereal consumption protects against childhood obesity. Kafatos et al (11) found that adolescents who are daily consumers of ready-to-eat cereals had lower mean BMI, WC and WHtR values, compared with non-consumers and occasional consumers. Other cross-sectional (50)(51)(52) and prospective studies (53,54) have shown similar results.…”

“…soda, juice and soft drinks) are associated with enhanced risk of children and adolescents being overweight or obese (8,9) . On the other hand, some studies have identified food groups whose intake has an inverse association with obesity, such as fruits, vegetables, ready-to-eat cereals and dairy products (10)(11)(12) . However, the results regarding the role of specified food groups in the development of overweight/ obesity remain controversial in paediatric populations.…”